Korean Education and Research Trends in India
Korean Education and Research Trends in India Vyjayanti Raghavan JNU
Status of Korean Studies in India
The last two decades have seen a spurt in the number of institutions in India that have either started or have shown a keen interest to start Korean language and studies courses. Similarly, there are an even more number of institutions in Korea that are keen on adding South Asian studies program with the focus on various facets of India and some of which are also running Hindi language program. The number of partnerships between Indian and Korean universities is also growing rapidly. Along with an increase in the MOUs between universities the demand for student exchanges for one-semester courses has also seen a sudden upsurge. In India, with the bright job prospects for students of Korean language it is only natural that the number of institutions wanting to launch Korean language courses is on the increase. This paper looks at the current status of Korean education in India and assesses the trend in Korean research in India. This trend started with the opening of the Indian economy in the 1990s. The increase in FDIs led to an increase in demand for Korean language, as students saw an opportunity of employment. Delhi has three institutions that teach Korean language and two that run degree programs in Korean studies. The three institutions are Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi University (DU) and the recently opened Korean Culture Centre (KCC). Though JNU had started its Korean language and studies program much before any talk about FDIs was on the horizon, yet its various degree programs got a boost only in the post Indian economic reform period. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is the only institution, so far, in South Asia that offers a Bachelor’s, Master’s and M.Phil/Ph.D. Degree in Korean Language, and M.Phil/Ph.D in Korean Studies. The history of the Korean language and Studies Programme at JNU dates back to the early 1970s, but the language program existed merely as Certificate and Diploma course until 1995. It was in 1995 that the Bachelor’s Degree Program was instituted and in 1998 it was elevated to the Master’s level. The M.Phil/Ph.D Program in Korean language which had been kept in abeyance for a long time due to shortage of teaching faculty, was finally started in 2013. Over 500 students have graduated since 1995 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Korean language and about one third that number with a Master’s Degree and I am happy to share the fact that none of them is jobless at present. Delhi University (DU) is another institution which has a large number of students doing Korean language and studies course. DU expanded its Department of Japanese & Chinese studies by including Korean Studies in 2001 and renaming it the Department of East Asian Studies. It started its Korean Language course in 2002 as a one-year certificate course which has grown to a three-year Advanced Diploma course. They have also expanded further recently and have introduced full time Korean Language courses to those pursuing Korean studies. Since last couple of years DU has included courses in Korean Studies, and Korean Language and Literature at the M.A. & M.Phil level. However, the department is going to do away with M.Phil program from this coming academic session (2015-16) and have only Ph.D program. The Korean Culture Centre which was started in December 2012 also runs Intensive Korean language programs at the Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced level of 3 month duration each. These are extremely popular both as hobby courses as well as courses to acquire working knowledge of the language by businessmen. The Culture Centre also runs culture classes like Taekwondo, Samulnori, Korean calligraphy etc. and has Korean movie shows regularly, all of which are extremely popular. The library at the Centre is also very popular with school and college researchers. The Centre has also started conducting Teachers’ Training Program for the Korean language educators in Delhi. It is a semester long course and therefore, cannot be availed of by Korean language educators outside of Delhi as there is no boarding and lodging facility at the Centre. Another institution within India that has started a degree course in Korean language is the Central University of Jharkhand (CUJ) established by an Act of parliament in 2009. The university introduced a five year Integrated M.A. program in Korean language in the year 2012. The course is quite popular and is sure to become more so because of the clientele it will cater to. As and when POSCO enterprise takes off fully they are sure to draw on this lot of Korean language experts as will the Buddhist pilgrim route tourists. Besides these, there are many other institutions where Korean is taught as a Certificate or Diploma courses. The English and Foreign Language University (EFLU), earlier known as Central Institute of English and Foreign language (CIEFL), at Hyderabad (a city in the South of India which is fast becoming India’s ‘Silicon valley’, after Bangalore) is one such institution which has started Korean language courses since 2008. In the city of Chennai, where Hyundai Motors has its largest overseas plant, the task of imparting Korean language and culture education is undertaken by the InKo Center (opened in 2006) which is run as a Korean Culture Centre, jointly by TVS India Ltd. and Hyundai Motors India Ltd. In the eastern part of India, besides CUJ, there are quite a few other institutions where Korean language is being taught or is poised to be started. A.N. College, Patna, and Magadh University at Bodhgaya, which is the largest university in Bihar, have both been running Korean Language courses for the last 6-7 years. Manipur University which is in one of the seven sister states in the northeast region of India, has been running a Korean Language certificate & diploma program since 2009. It must be added that the Northeast of India is a region that has been swept by Hallyu or Korean Wave because of the proximity to China. Besides these, the Banaras Hindu university (BHU) which is one of the oldest universities in India and the largest residential university in Asia, Sikkim University- a fairly recent university which is poised to become an international institution, Nalanda university which is already called Nalanda International university, and Doon University have all evinced an interest in starting Korean language courses soon. Jadavpur University, Kolkata, has been running Korean language courses off and on. Korean Studies at JNU B.A. Level Curriculum at JNU The Curriculum that is currently being followed at the Undergraduate level course at Jawaharlal Nehru University is one that was designed in the mid-1990s on the model of the Japanese Language Course at JNU with minor changes being made now and then. Any major change involves a tedious process of seeking approvals at various levels. So for the moment we are broadly following that curriculum as it meets the basic objectives. In terms of curriculum this paper is going to focus on (a)what is it that we at Jawaharlal Nehru University seek to attain; (b) what educational methodologies we provide to attain those objectives; (c) how are the courses organized to attain them and (d) how do we assess to see whether those objectives have been achieved. Like in most other language courses the courses in the B.A. Programme are designed in such a way that at the end of three years the students would have acquired not only a sound knowledge of the language but also of the culture, customs, society and history of the country of their specialisation, in this case, Korea. As the writing system of Korean is different from other languages, a considerable amount of time during B.A. first year is devoted to mastering the basic skills like speaking, reading and writing Korean, besides laying the foundation for grammar. In the process of developing these basic skills the effort is to equip the students with the necessary vocabulary and sentence structures that are as close to real life situations as possible. From the second year onwards a course in Hanja, the Chinese characters, is also introduced. Besides these, tool courses in English on the culture, history, geography and society of Korea are also offered to the first and second year students. Courses on translation, interpretation, literature etc. are offered in the third year and final year of the B.A. Programme. Though the minimum levels of proficiency that we hope to achieve by the end of each stage is predetermined but, in effect, the objective becomes an open-ended one depending on the kind of student group it is, its needs and motivation, as well as the availability of experts in that particular field; and therefore the objective often oscillates between learner-centered and teacher-centered objectives. The methodology of teaching adopted is a combination of Grammar-Translation method, Audio-Lingual method and Communicative method. Therefore, they include explanation of rules, paradigms, contextualization in dialogues, drilling of patterns through a series of analogous sentences designed to promote inductive learning, use of audio-visual facilities and most importantly an effort towards creation of situations that approximate in the classroom what happens in the genuine world communication outside. We are fortunate to have a number of native speakers as members of the faculty to help us achieve this effectively. The methodology used to enhance their vocabulary includes, besides of course, varied texts and teaching material, the teaching of Hanja and specialized terminologies. The teaching material used is usually books of Korean provenance. While often the situations in the text books are Korea-centric addressing the West-centric students but they are still found to be the best and most scientifically produced ones. Some of us in India have tried our hand at developing Indianised text books but, while the situations portrayed in these are more realistic and appropriate for our students but the expertise of producing graded level text books is still lacking. Therefore, the textbooks produced by a great number of Korean universities are used with reasonable satisfaction as the core text books and also as reference books for worksheets. To get a Bachelor’s degree the students are required to complete 100 credits in three years, which includes 74 credits in Core courses of Korean language, 10 credits of Tool Courses and 16 credits in optional course. The 74 credits in hand for the core courses gives us ample space to develop all skills uniformly. The Tool courses are, as the name suggests, courses to enhance the students’ understanding of the region and therefore, include courses in Korean Culture, History and Geography, and Politics. Even until a couple of years ago, we were not able to offer these courses regularly to our students because of paucity of teachers. But, realizing the absolute need for these we have decided to offer these to our students unconditionally, even if it entails additional work load for the teachers. The optional courses are those offered by other Centres and other Schools. There are a number of courses from which the students can opt. Again, unfortunately, due to paucity of seats in each course a student may not always get the course he/she is interested in but may take it only to fulfill the credit requirement. The Organisation of the core courses in Korean and their year-wise distribution is as below:
| Monsoon Semester | Winter Semester | |
|---|---|---|
| B.A.I Yr | 1. Oral Expression -1 2. Oral Expression -2 3. Hangeul 4. Basic Structure 5. Comprehension 6. Geography & Culture of Korea (Tool) |
1. Oral Expression -3 2. Oral Expression – 4 3. Text In Hangeul 4. Applied Grammar 5. Comprehension & Composition 6. Modern History of Korea (Tool) |
| II Yr. | 1.Conversation Ability 2. Reading Ability 3. Hanja 1 4. Translation & Composition 5. Hanja 2 & Mixed Script 6. Contemporary Korea: Social, Economic&Political Dimension (Tool) |
1. Advanced Conversation 2. Text and Grammar 3. Hanja 3 4. Comprehension 5. Indo-Korea Relations (Tool) |
| III Yr. | 1. Translation 2. Text and Grammar 3. Themes in Korean Literature-1 4. Specialized Terminology & Translation |
1. Interpretation 2. Text and Grammar 3. Themes in Korean Literature 2 4. Translation: Fundamentals and Theories |
The system of evaluation that is followed in JNU is one based on continuous assessment of the achievement of the stated objectives. The students are required to take three ‘sessionals’ or tests for every course in a semester, at the rate of one every month. The average of the grades in the best two of these forms 50% of the final grade in the course; and the End-semester Examination forms the remaining 50% of the final grade. Class performance which consists of attendance, class-interaction and assignment submission all form a large component of the sessional grades. The M.A. Programme At the Master’s level the basic objective is to use the language as a tool to impart detailed knowledge of various aspects of Korean language and studies, which includes linguistics, literature, economy, current affairs etc. We also try to develop their skills in translation and interpretation. The aim is not only to provide them with factual information about Korea affairs but also to develop their analytical skills. This is to equip them with skills for research work that would stand them in good stead in their future academic pursuit. In literature courses I understand the skill is known as rhetorical analysis and helps one develop critical thinking skills. The students are taught to analyse the various expressions, choice of words, the analogy used, the arrangement of ideas etc used by the author to create in the reader’s mind certain imagery without passing judgment on what is said. In the course pertaining to current affairs of Korea the skill that we try to develop is one known as causal analysis. The endeavour here is to develop skills to understand and question the cause and effect of an event. The point that we try to emphasize is that, while there can be only one set of facts there can be a number of analyses. There is not any single correct or wrong answer for an analysis. The students can take any point of view as long as they are able to defend it, argue or present it logically and rationally. The indirect objective being to groom individuals who find it easy to talk about, accept or reject rationally value systems different from their own, in other words, become informed and tolerant human beings. In the final semester of the programme the students also have to submit a dissertation in Korean on a subject of their choice. This also carries weightage of 4 credits. Since the last three years we have also tied up with Sookmyung Women’s University in Korea for a Global E-school programme. Through this programme the M.A. students of our Centre are able to access online real-time lectures offered by SMU professors, and also interact with them directly. The courses we have accessed so far are on Korean Literature and Korean History & Society. The lectures on Korean literature have been very popular, and very useful and productive. So much so, that since this programme was introduced, the number of students wanting to write their dissertation on Literature or Translation studies has drastically increased. The Semester-wise courses offered at the M.A. level are as follows:
| M.A 1st | Monsoon Semester | Winter Semester |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Introduction to Linguistics | Comparative & Contrastive Linguistics/ |
| 2. | Translation and Interpretation-I | Translation and Interpretation-II |
| 3. | Trends & Themes in Literature-I | Advanced Language Studies Advanced Language Studies-I |
| 4. | Social & Culture Heritage of Korea | Social and Culture Heritage of Korea-II |
| M.A. II Yr. | ||
| 1. | Stylistics and Textual Analysis | Didactics of Korean Studies |
| 2. | Translation & Interpretation-II | Translation and Interpretation-III |
| 3. | Trends & Themes in Literature-II | Trends and Themes in Literature -III |
| 4. | Analysis on Current Affairs-I | Dissertation |
There are no fixed text books used for the Master’s level courses barring the courses on Language studies for which we use the advanced level Korean language courses produced by Korean universities. For the rest the teachers usually use selected articles from newspapers and journals of current interest and also from internet sources.
The M.Phil/Ph.D Programme: The M.Phil/Ph.D programme in Korean Language & Literature course was started in 2013. The M.Phil. Programme is of four semesters. The first two semesters are for course work during which period the student is expected to complete four courses carrying 4 credits each. The remaining two semesters are spent on a dissertation which carries 8 credits. The dissertation has to be submitted latest by the end of the fourth semester for the award of M.Phil. Degree.
A student who has scored a CGPA of 6 or above, on a 9-point scale, in his/her M.Phil. degree, can register for a Ph.D. degree. The Ph.D degree will be awarded to the research scholar upon his/her completion of a thesis in the field of his/her choice. The courses offered to the M.Phil students are:
•Research Technique and Methodology, which is a compulsory course. Besides that, one/two course(s) from the following streams are offered every semester: Korean Language & Linguistics
•Methodology of Teaching Korean as a Foreign Language
•Introduction to Korean Linguistics Korean Literature
•Korean Literature during Ancient and Medieval Period
•Korean Literature during Modern Period
•Comparative Literature: India and Korea Korean Society and Culture
•Cultural Nationalism in Contemporary Korea
•Tradition to Modernity in Korean Society
Students have to secure a grade point of 5 (4 for SC and ST) and above in the first semester for eligibility to second semester. They have to secure an average of B+ ,which is 6 grade point, in their course work to become eligible to transit to Ph.D. (as per the University ordinance).
Research Trends: Jawaharlal Nehru University is largely a research institution where undergraduate program is available only in the School of Languages. Therefore, research tradition in the university is very strong and vibrant. There have been quite a few researches that have been done on Korea related topics. However they have all been in the field of either international relations or social science. This is because, as mentioned earlier, Korean Studies was started first in the School of International Studies as part of the East Asian Studies at the level of M.Phil and Ph.D. The Centre for Korean Studies at the School of Language, Literature & Culture Studies started its M.Phil/Ph.D program only in 2013. The first batch of students at this Centre is only now working on their M.Phil Dissertation on topics pertaining to Korean Language Education, Korean Literature and Culture. Hopefully this number will increase in the near future. But, again, the richness and vitality of the field will depend on the availability of qualified teachers to teach these courses. A sample survey of the topics of dissertation that have been submitted on Korea related field will give an idea of what areas have dominated so far or what has been the general interest of researchers about Korea. The survey revealed the general interest so far has been pertaining to Korea’s relations with the U.S., Japan, Russia etc, its economic development, political economy, the financial sector, or some aspects of the society as status of women, the Saemaul Undong, the effect of Korean Wave etc. Though the survey is confined to JNU but I am certain that this would also be the case in other institutions within India. Some of the topics of dissertations/theses so far have been: Note: This is by no means an exhaustive list, it is only an indicative one.
- ASEAN-Korea dialogue Partnership 1992-2005
- Changing Dynamics of Japan-Republic of Korea Relationship: 1998-2007
- A Comparative Study of Social Indicators and their effect on economic development of India, China and South Korea.
- Conflict Resolution, Issues of peace, reunification and justice in Korea
- Democratisation and the status of women in Republic of Korea
- Emergence of the Republic of Korea : peninsular and international dimensions
- Political transformation in South Korea since 1992 presidential election
- The State and the financial system in the Republic of Korea
- Japan's policy towards North Korea in the post cold-war era
- State and steel sector in South Korea : a case study of POSCO
- South Korea-China relations since August, 1992
- Republic of Korea - United States of America relations since 1988 : political, security and economic dimensions
- Financial sector Liberalisation : experience of South Korea, Chile and India in the 1990s
- Women workforce and the pattern of economic development in the Republic of Korea, 1962-1996
- Material avatars : a sensuous cartography of the Korean wave
- Economic ethos and religious affiliation in Korean society : a comparative study of confucian and Christian values
- India-South Korea cultural relations : impact on Bilateral cooperation
- Negotiating North Korea's nuclear disarmament : an assessment of the six party talks : 2003-2008
- Korean wave in 'northeast' India : rethinking regional film cultures
- New village community movement in republic of Korea : relevance for India rural development
With the starting of M.Phil/Ph.D program in the School of language, Literature & Culture Studies at JNU in 2013, it is only now that students are branching into areas of Humanities. Some of the topics are students are currently working on are:
- Transformation of Korean Women’s Identity as reflected in the works of Kyung-Sook Shin
- Korean Cultural Education for beginner Level Indian Learners: Focusing on content and teaching method
- Ancestor Worship in Contemporary Korea: Continuity and Change
Though the topics so far have been largely on political science, international relations or economics, but the students who are specializing in fields like Korean language education, the various aspects of teaching of Korean as a foreign language, Korean literature, culture etc are significantly on the rise. Many of our students are studying these courses in various universities in Korea under the scholarship given by the National Institute of International Education Development (NIIED) of Korea, and the Academy of Korean Studies. Hopefully in another 4-5 years the shortfall in this field would have been bridged. These students will become the resource persons for the various institutions in India that are starting Korean studies program. Another area which is lacking at present is collection of books on Korea. While JNU library - both the Central library as well as the departmental library - is slowly building it up with help from Korea Foundation but it is still far from what is sufficient. This too, hopefully will get addressed gradually. However, the challenge is to anticipate the future needs and slowly build on it because it is true that a lot of research on Korea will get automatically get directed towards areas in which there is sufficient research material and similarly will get directed away from areas where there are not sufficient research material. Also, in the future, libraries within the major universities in India will have to work on networking and exchange program amongst themselves so as to minimize duplication of collection. Hopefully all that will happen sometime in the near future. Lessons learnt and some suggestions to institutions starting Korean studies program For a long time the teaching methodology that was being used was the Grammar Translation Method which emphasized on memorization and rote learning with reinforcements through drills in classrooms. It was largely text-oriented, and because these books were of Korean provenance they presented unrealistic situation for oral practice. There was also little space for creativity or originality.
But a few years ago we did a thorough review of the teaching methodology and have been able to incorporate quite a few changes. We have prudently started using a variety of text books and internet resources as teaching aid. A lot more CDs are used for authentic experiences. We also have some on-line and off-line multimedia aided classes. With the help of our Korean student community at JNU we have been able to form a number of hobby classes (동아리) and introduce Korean culture. Encouraging students to form study circles/groups has also helped to bring about cohesion amongst them as also encourage the culture of co-operative work and mutual help.
Besides the lessons from our own experience some suggestions that I would like to make for institutions that are planning to expand the Korean language program is to avail of the Visiting Professor support from Korean Foundation and/or the Academy of Korean Studies for the initial years. Also get the Korean government and institutional support for books, material resources and funds for organising events. Also to avail support for developing localised text books professionally as it is important that each institution develops its own localized text books. It would also be useful to make available for students computers with Korean fonts and encourage them to make small presentations in Korean. Organising regular lectures by Koreans/experts on Korean culture, society, current affairs is yet another way of exposing them to Korea. Similarly, showing Korean movies and holding discussions on them or setting appropriate assignments on them would also help to not only inculcate an interest in the language but also prove to be a good teaching aid for exposing students to all aspects of Korea. However, prudence might be required in selecting the right kind of movies.
Some suggestions for promoting Korean studies within the institution would be for the existing Korean language centers to offer Korean as an optional course for students of other disciplines. Also networking with Korean scholars/ educational institutions to clear doubts and to know the recent trends in the field of Korean language education would be useful. Encouraging comparative research of any aspect of Korea with that particular country’s language, literature, culture etc would also help in bringing about interesting research output. Some proposals to Korean agencies for adding value to Korean studies abroad Some suggestions that I had made to the Korea Foundation during their Korea Foundation Assembly Meet a few years ago, which I would like to share in this forum are the following:
•Korean Research Institutions to provide access to Research sites like RISS4U to scholars of Korean studies abroad.
•Korean firms to support Korean studies as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This would amount to their investing in their own future. As the economic relations between the two countries grows so would the academic ties, thereby leading the two nations to new frontiers of knowledge economy. They could institute scholarships, fund conferences, fund short-term trips for meritorious students, finance training programs/workshops, refresher courses for faculty members
•Some Grant-in-aid under the ODA (Official Development Assistance) to set up language labs and video studios for training and for the local development of teaching materials.
•Conducting regular Teachers’ Training Program or Refresher courses for regular updates.
•Instituting Visiting Professor scheme or faculty exchange programs.
•The most important and crucial requirement is to increase the number of scholarships for Korean language training and graduate studies in Korea. Korea is the only place where students can be trained well in Korean language/studies. One must not forget that these are the students who would become the future resource persons in that country.
•Increase the number of short-term scholarships so that many students can have first-hand experience and the interest of students pursuing the course can be sustained. In conclusion I would like to say that the Korean studies program in India, despite constraints and limitations, has made remarkable progress. It has been placed in the intellectual and academic map of Indian universities, and with the right impetus the program can be further enriched and made relevant to the times. We hope that JNU would become the model for Korean Studies in the entire South Asian region.
This paper is adapted from a paper presented at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, in February 2015, on ‘Korean Studies in India’.
